This is a remote position.
Reports To: Executive/CEO
Location: Remote, with national travel
Engagement: Independent contractor; Fixed-Fee deliverable contract; renewable 45-day term with conversion potential.
This is a rare role for someone who wants to lead serious business development work that directly advances a mission. You will own the full revenue development function for a Washington, D.C.-area nonprofit with decades of direct partnership with law enforcement agencies across the United States. The organization is in an active growth phase, expanding two fee-for-service lines alongside its established knowledge and research work, and this role drives that expansion.
You will report directly to the CEO, own the pipeline, set pricing strategy, drive partnerships, and be accountable for results. There is no layer between you and the decisions that matter. The role requires someone who has done this before, who can walk into a room with a law enforcement executive and earn credibility immediately, and who can also build and manage the operational discipline behind a professional revenue development function.
If you have deep roots in law enforcement and a track record of developing and closing sales or fee-for-service engagements, this role was designed for you.
About our Client: This organization is a D.C.-area nonprofit with a decades-long track record of direct partnership with law enforcement agencies nationwide. It operates three integrated service lines: a knowledge and research function that provides the evidence base and credibility for all work; a fee-for-service consulting practice that partners with agencies on complex operational challenges; and a growing portfolio of digital tools and subscription-based products built for the thousands of agencies that cannot access or afford custom consulting.
The organization serves agencies of all sizes, from major urban and state agencies to small and specialized agencies, and is known across the field as a trusted, nonpartisan research and solutions partner. Both fee-for-service lines are in active growth, and this role owns the business development function that drives that growth.
A Note on Sales and Commercialization in a Nonprofit Context: This role leads a commercialization function. It leads sales. Those words are used deliberately, and we want candidates to understand what they mean in this context. This organization does not generate profit. Revenue from fee-for-service consulting and digital products sustains operations, funds research and field work, and extends reach to more agencies than grant funding alone can support. As traditional grant-making has pulled back from applied research and technical assistance across the field, fee-for-service revenue is not a pivot away from mission. It is how the mission survives and scales. We are looking for candidates who are energized by this and recognize that sales that improve agency effectiveness are not a tension to manage but an opportunity to be taken.
Revenue Lines and Selling Motions: This role manages two distinct business development approaches within a single portfolio, both grounded in the same mission and field credibility but fundamentally different in how they are developed, priced, and delivered. Customized advisory and consulting engagements are high-touch and relationship-driven, with long development cycles, custom-scoped work, and success measured by revenue, long-term client relationships, and referral networks. Packaged advisory services and digital and SaaS solutions operate at scale, with standardized pricing, shorter cycles, and success measured by recurring revenue, renewal rates, and agencies reached. We are looking for someone fluent in both, knowing when to invest deeply in a high-value relationship and when to qualify out and let the product pipeline do the work.
Key Responsibilities:
- Strategy and revenue development
- Pipeline and operations
- Partnerships and market development
- Pricing and continuous improvement
- Team and collaboration
Requirements
- Experience partnering with law enforcement agencies at the executive level. No minimum years required. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to engage chiefs and command staff credibly and fluently. A former sworn officer with management or command-level experience is strongly desired.
- A demonstrated record of building or leading a business development function that is equivalent or similar to those described here (advisory services and/or products), including the systems and discipline behind it: pipeline management, qualification frameworks, CRM, and forecasting.
- Experience carrying fee-for-service engagements from first contact through signed agreement, across both custom consulting and packaged or product-based offerings.
- Experience advising senior leadership and presenting to executive teams or governing boards.
- Credibility with law enforcement executives. This is not a role for someone who needs to learn the field.
- Highly disciplined pipeline and CRM management. HubSpot proficiency preferred. Strong qualification habits and forecasting capability.
- Sound judgment on pricing, prioritization, and where to invest time across a dual-motion portfolio.
- Clear, direct written and verbal communication, including executive presentations and formal proposals.
Education and Credentials
- Bachelor's degree desired.
- Relevant certifications are a plus, including project management, change management, or law enforcement credentials.
Other Requirements
- Willingness to travel nationally to meet agency leaders and represent the organization at conferences and events.
Success Metrics: Performance is measured against criteria agreed with the CEO. Success is not measured by activity volume alone. Both behavioral metrics (i.e., whether the right activities are happening) and outcome metrics (i.e., whether those activities are producing results) apply. Specific numerical targets are set in consultation with the CEO at the start of each term based on current conditions and priorities. Expected KPI’s cover enterprise pipeline development, balancing the pipeline across both revenue lines, channel partnership development, market intelligence sharing, revenue closed against target, and pipeline conversion rate.
